Between Folkestone and Dover is a stretch of coast known as the Warren. Below the white cliffs is a concrete promenade, buttressed by concrete groynes, with large concrete aprons extending a few yards to seaward. A stroll along the promenade at low tide will reveal the features that make this such a good venue for lure fishing for bass.

Below the high tide line, the concrete structures reveal the clinging weed and shellfish at their bases. Further out, there are groups of rocks, and thick kelp beds, and within this cover you can find prawns, small crabs, gobies, shrimps and all manner of food. The bass come in close, hunting the prawns and crabs, hidden among the rocks, and waiting to attack the mackerel and other fish looking for a meal.

Most of my fishing along here as been around high water, though other anglers favour low water. I'm looking forward to the arrival of some neoprene chest waders, so that I can give low water fishing a go in the coming season. Of course not every tide brings fish, but when they do come in you are likely to catch a few fish per session, mostly up to 3lb, but always with the chance of a double, though the bigger fish tend to come inshore at night. Dawn and dusk are good times to fish here. There is something magical about a sunrise or sunset at the sea's horizon.

As well as bass, mackerel, scad and garfish are commonly caught on lures, with perhaps the odd surprise such as a shad. (Allis shad are protected, it is illegal to fish for them, and the fine is £3,000!).

Fresh water lure fishing kit is fine, but it's a good idea to liberally spray reels and lures with WD40 before a session. Once you get home, no matter how tired you are, make sure you wash everything in freshwater (taking everything, including rods into the shower with you is a good idea!) and respray with WD40.

The best lures are those that look like sandeels, i.e. long thin ones. Rapala J-13s are among the best. Bass will respond to vibration, so jointed lures are very effective. Bass will mostly take at or near the surface so, particularly in low light conditions, and at night, surface lures and poppers work well. As with pike, colour can be important, and different coloured lures will work on different days.

The main problems with fishing from the Warren are wind and weed. An onshore breeze will shorten your casting distance considerably. As most takes are close in, often at your rod tip, this isn't too much of a problem.Weed, however, is. Often there is weed floating everywhere, small strips of green weed (known as May weed) can really spoil a trip. It's sometimes necessary to spend most of the trip searching for spots which are fishable, then suddenly the tide or wind turns and the weed is gone!

I've found that Dexter wedges seem to beat both wind and weed, and the bass love them too! The only problem is their heavy weight means using a rod with plenty of backbone. Strangely, these heavy lures do not dive straight to the bottom. A reasonably fast retrieve will actually have them skipping over the wavetops! They have a really nice fluttering, glittering action when fished at a speed, which runs them about a foot below the surface. I certainly wouldn't bother with a trip, unless I have some of these lures in my bag.

The Friendly Fisherman do trebles with lure guards which can be used to turn most lures into weedless lures, but weed can still get caught on the lip of the lure.

When fishing along here, always keep one eye on what is happening to seaward. Gulls attacking shoals of whitebait mean that predators won't be far away. Mackerel leaping from the sea are usually being chased by bass. Sometimes, a shoal of mackerel may drive a shoal of whitebait up against the shore. Cast into the melee and you are certain to hook mackerel, but the big bass are nearby! Usually, they are beneath, or outside the area of frenzied feeding. Use a deep running lure, such as a Rapala Fat Rap, to get below the mackerel and whitebait, or fish beyond or to the side of the action. You'll probably still get mackerel, but you will be in with a better chance of hooking a big bass.

Access to the Warren from Folkestone usually involves a bit of a hike. Parking is fairly limited, and is expensive in town. Arriving before the beach crowds, it's possible to park along Wear Bay road, toward the town, then hike eastward over the golf links, across the scrub of the leas (following the signed footpaths), then along the promenade, past the camping club up on the cliffs, to the first apron. I suggest we meet here between 7am - 9am, then start to fish our way eastward along the promenade. High tide is around 10am.

In places, the promenade can be quite slippery, and if there is a sea running, and the tide is high, it's easy to get a soaking. Take care and respect the sea, don't take chances. Make sure you bring sun tan lotion and plenty of liquid to drink, if the day looks like being hot. There are no shops nearby, though there is a shop open in the campsite.

See you there? 

Leon Roskilly

Email leon@go-fishing.co.uk if you would like further details.